ONE thing, at least, pleased Rufus when he crawled forth and stretched himself, giving a yawn at the same time--it promised to be a fine day.
To a fellow who expected to do considerable prowling around in the vicinity of Racc.o.o.n Bluff this was a matter of material importance; for a heavy rain must have put a damper on his cherished plans.
By the time the latest up had finished dressing the welcome call to breakfast was sounding. Lil Artha performed this sacred rite, and in the customary camp way, wishing to initiate the two tenderfoot chums in all the mysteries that went with the ceremony. Taking the biggest frying-pan they had fetched along, he rattled a lively tattoo upon it with a heavy cooking spoon. And during the course of their stay it may be said in pa.s.sing that never was there a more eagerly antic.i.p.ated racket, in the opinion of Rufus and Alec, when their camp appet.i.tes developed, than that same summons to the "festive board," as Lil Artha dubbed the rude makeshift table.
While they enjoyed the fruits of the cook"s skill in wrestling with the culinary outfit, and made the bacon and fried eggs vanish in a most remarkably swift fashion, the boys also laid out their plans for the first day.
Of course Rufus was eager to get busy looking up the lines of the survey; and he had already bound Alec to the task of being his helper.
The latter did not object in the least, though after a day or two had elapsed, and the fever calmed down somewhat with Rufus, the Scotch lad antic.i.p.ated having his time more to himself; for he was eager to learn a great many scout secrets which the accommodating lanky Lil Artha had promised to impart to the new fellows.
Elmer, however, had no intention of allowing those two greenhorns free swing for a whole day. The chances were ten to one they would get lost the first thing; and it would be too bad if a good part of their limited stay at Racc.o.o.n Bluff was taken up in hunting missing comrades.
"I appoint you, Lil Artha, as supervisor," he went on to say, with a smile; "and your duties today will be to stick to Rufus and Alec like a porous plaster. Don"t let one of them get out of your sight for a minute. You can lend a hand as much as you please; and fetch them back to camp at midday, when we"ll have lunch, leaving the big meal until the day"s work is all done."
Rufus looked as though about to rebel. He was so accustomed to having his own way that it came hard with him to be ordered to do anything.
Then he suddenly remembered his scout vow, and that he had solemnly promised to bow to superior authority. Elmer was the "boss," and his word was law while they were away from home; so, making a virtue of necessity, Rufus shrugged his shoulders and grinned.
"Just as you say, Elmer," he observed, a bit ungraciously, "but I never was lost in all my life."
"That"s nothing to boast of, Rufus," remarked Lil Artha. "It only goes to prove how many splendid opportunities you"ve missed. On my part I was just as proud of my ability to look after myself as you are; and yet I used to get twisted in my bearings a heap until I got the hang of things. I can remember several times when I walked straight away from camp, under the belief that I was heading for it. You see, while I could easily tell which was north and east, I didn"t know _which way the camp lay_; because my faculty for observation hadn"t yet been developed to any great extent. It"ll all come to you by degrees, if you really want to learn."
"Well, what am I to do this morning, Elmer?" asked George.
"That"s an easy one," chuckled the leader. "As you"re such a stickler for having everything so neat about the camp, George, with things handy to the reach, I"ll appoint you camp warden for today. You can fuss around all you please, and by night I expect we"ll find that Camp Comfort well deserves its name."
George looked pleased. His good qualities often more than counterbalanced his poor ones; and being neat is something no scout should ever feel ashamed of.
Elmer did not mention what he meant to do himself. In fact, he had not wholly determined that point, though he fancied that he might take a wide turn around, and see what the country about Racc.o.o.n Bluff looked like.
Although Elmer had not said anything about it to the others, the fact is he had made a little discovery that aroused his interest considerably.
Just before they sat down to breakfast he had chanced to step over to a point where the best view was to be had, and using a pair of field-gla.s.ses which had been brought along, took a casual survey of the country.
In one particular spot he believed he could see a faint column of pale blue smoke climbing straight skyward from amidst the thick growth. Elmer was a pretty good woodsman, and he did not have to be told that such smoke always comes from well seasoned wood, while black smoke springs from greener stuff.
Some one had a fire over there, that was evident, and knew what sort of fuel to select in the bargain; which fact made it patent that he was educated in the ways of the woods. Elmer"s curiosity was excited. He wondered who their neighbor could be. Was it some fishing party, perhaps camped on the sh.o.r.e of the unseen lake on the bosom of which that loon they had heard cry had been swimming at the time?
Of course there might be numerous answers to the question Elmer was asking himself. Perhaps lumbermen were looking over the property which had lately come into the possession of Mr. Snodgra.s.s, with an idea of making him a proposition for the right to cut off the big timber. Then again, charcoal-burners sometimes worked in the season; or it might be game wardens were abroad, with the idea of catching detested poachers at their work.
Then last of all Elmer thought of Jem Shock, the slippery customer whom no warden had thus far been able to catch red-handed, breaking the game laws; and who, it seemed, had gained an unenviable reputation for boldness as well as knavery, so that his name, bandied about from lip to lip, had gradually become a synonym for everything that was bad, whether the fellow deserved it or not.
Well, they knew that this same Jem lived somewhere in the wilderness, since he seldom appeared in any town; and what more likely than that his camp lay over yonder, where the blue trail of smoke lifted toward the sky?
Elmer felt an enticing temptation beginning to a.s.sail him. It has been said before that he had found himself attracted toward Jem Shock, simply because of a curiosity to know what the _real_ man might be like; for Elmer was loath to believe all he heard about any one, knowing how stories are magnified in the telling.
And by the time breakfast was over with, the scout leader had decided that he would take a little stroll, which might, there was no telling, carry him in the direction of the blue column of smoke.
It happened that Rufus was so busy getting ready to start out with his surveying instruments that he had given no thought to looking around.
Lil Artha on his part would, of course, take note of the general lay of the land; but with the ridge to serve as a guide he believed he could always make a bee-line back to camp whenever the necessity arose.
All was soon ready, and Alec, laden with the heavier material, called out a cheery goodbye to the two who were being left behind.
"I"m glad this day that I"ve got on the braw khaki breeks," he was saying, "for if they were woollen ye maun rest a.s.sured it would tak all my time picking off the beggars" lice, as ye call these little burrs.
We"ll be back the noo and expectin" lunch to be served, George, remember, lad."
"Well, stick by Lil Artha then, if you know what"s good for you, Scotchy," called out the keeper of the camp. "And I"m glad Elmer made each one of you put a little snack of cheese and crackers in his pocket.
If you have the misfortune to get lost that will be the only thing to stand between you and starvation."
Rufus sniffed in disdain.
"Talk away, George," he told the other, "we all know that you"re one of these pessimists, and always seeing the black side of things. Who expects to get lost? Certainly neither of us. And besides, what do we have a guardian angel like Lil Artha along with us for? Not because of his good looks, that"s sure."
"Oh! come along, and don"t talk so much, Rufus!" the said "guardian angel" called out, though smiling broadly at being so highly complimented.
"Just see Lil Artha feeling of his shoulders, will you?" George jeered.
"Now you"ve gone and spoiled him for any decent sort of work, Rufus; after this he"ll be spending most of his time looking for his angel wings to sprout. But goodbye, and good luck, fellows. Look for you about noon, remember."
So they went off, seemingly as happy as boys could well be; for Rufus was about to test his superior knowledge of survey work. Alec saw a chance of having many little talks between whiles with the tall guide, upon whom he was leaning more and more as an exponent of the jolly times to be had in the open; while Lil Artha, himself, was always supremely happy when he could shoulder his Marlin gun, and stalk abroad, no matter whether he meant to do any hunting or not.
Elmer knew very well that nothing would tempt Lil Artha to fire his gun with the intention of breaking the law. The only reasons he insisted on taking it along were that it might come in handy in case they met a wildcat, always a possibility, of course; and that he loved to feel its familiar touch upon his shoulder, where his khaki coat was well worn from contact with it.
For some little time afterwards Elmer busied himself in fixing certain things of his own. George had already cleaned up the mess of breakfast pans and dishes, so that he could devote himself to other matters. He had already sized things up, and made a list of certain improvements that were calculated to add to the comfort and peace of mind of the campers.
"While we"re only going to be up here at Racc.o.o.n Bluff for a matter of seven days or so," he had remarked in the hearing of the tenderfoot squad, "that"s no reason we ought to let things run along in a slipshod fashion. It"s a pleasure to me to have the camp look spic and span to begin with, no matter if it does get littered up somewhat as the days go by."
That is just the way with scouts, as a rule. No one of them unites all the virtues in his single person; but while owning up to certain faults, at the same time he will be found to possess a number of splendid qualities that add to the comfort and health of his comrades. George could make himself one of the most disagreeable chaps going, when his argumentative and unbelieving mood was upon him; then again, he would suddenly blossom out in another phase, and cause all his chums to bless him as a real public benefactor.
Finally Elmer strode forth from the tent.
"I"m going to take a little turn around, George," he remarked casually, "and see what this part of the country looks like."
"All right, Elmer," the busy one told him, "I can manage alone, I guess, because I"ve got a heap to do before I"m satisfied with the way things look. No use telling _you_ to not get lost; because that"d be next to impossible."
"Nevertheless," the scout-master a.s.sured him, "I mean to keep on the alert, for when you"re in the woods constant vigilance is the price of safety. I always take observations as I go along; and notice many queer-shaped trees, so that I"ll know them again when I see them. I also look back considerably, too, because it pays to notice how things appear from the other side."
"It certainly does," agreed George, very amiably; "I"ve had that experience myself more than once. Thought I had taken stock of bent-over trees and rock formations, yet on trying to follow the trail back, they all looked vastly different from what they had before. Taught me a lesson I"ve never forgotten either. Well, so-long, Elmer. I"ll expect you when you turn up. I hope though you don"t happen to run foul of that ugly poacher chap, Jem Shock. I didn"t much fancy the cut of his jib when we met him on the road; and I reckon he"d be a bad one to rile up."
Elmer only laughed lightly and walked off. He had cut a stout cane, and this was the only kind of weapon he cared to carry along. It would serve him in good stead should he happen to come across a rattlesnake, for this was likely to happen at any time, since they had been warned by the friendly farmer that such venomous reptiles abounded along Racc.o.o.n Bluff. And in case a bobcat should turn up, Elmer fancied he could defend himself against attack with that choice staff. Besides, it was not often that a cat was to be met with in broad daylight, since they prefer to do most of their wandering about in search of food after nightfall comes.
He stopped and looked back at the camp. It had a very picturesque appearance just at that time, with the fire casting up a spiral of smoke toward the clear heavens, George bustling around in the capacity of campkeeper; and the whole overhung by those magnificent trees.
Elmer dearly loved this sort of thing. Something implanted in his nature, coming down possibly from far-back ancestors who used to hunt game for a living, caused the boy to possess an earnest yearning to spend a season every year in the primeval wilderness, close to Nature"s heart. It was as near the "call of the wild" as the ordinary boy ever gets, since school duties, as well as home ties, have dominion over him most of the year.
Elmer prepared to enjoy himself to the full. The air was certainly delicious at this time in the morning, though growing rapidly warmer as the sun climbed higher. All outdoors seemed to be rejoicing with him. He could hear the merry voices of insects all around; the croaking of frogs in a nearby marshy spot he pa.s.sed; and the constant cawing of crows in the treetops, as they prepared to sally forth bent on finding a late breakfast, or possibly teaching their young how to use their wings in short flights around the home nests.
"This is the life!" said Elmer, exultingly, as he walked along with a brisk step, and used his eyes to notice a thousand and one things around him, most of which would of a certainty never be seen at all by an ordinary boy, until his senses had been sharpened, brought about through practical scout activities.